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what you have said is what they want you to think, but they suggest this to you in such cheap ways such as character voice overs, nonsequitur explanations of "self evidence," and basic stereotypes like mad genius is always right. The data simply will not provide for these easy solutions. To the audience, the deductions may seem vigorous, but really they are proceeding in a contrived and artificial way.

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When Kira killed Lind L Taylor,L found that Kira would respond to confrontation.But when the FBI agents died,it told L a clear message that Kira is afraid of being caught,meaning that he can get caught.A person with a completely fullproof way of killing wouldn't care how many detectives were watching him.

Why was the death of the FBI agent sending that clear message? It could just be that kira is smacking them in the face, and not merely afraid of getting caught. To suppose kira is in a position of weakness, and hiding from the authorities like a petty criminal, is to totally ignore the unexplored potential of the death note. Really, I see a naturalistic rationality here not unlike those who were afraid of falling down from a round earth. The serious non sequitur like "he is afraid of getting caught, therefore he can get caught." can you suppose that he is afraid of getting caught without assuming that he can be caught, and therefore engage in circular logic?

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When the 2 families were under surveillance and Kira only killed 2 minor criminals,it told L that Kira cannot simply kill anyone he wants,he needs to gather information first.The fact that Kira only killed 2 minor criminals shows that as his access to information is restricted,so is his range of targets.

Light had scheduled deaths several days ahead of time, so there were people dying at a normal rate, even when he was under surveillance, otherwise he would be busted. The 2 petty criminals were there just to provide him with an alibi, that these guys died when he apparantly had no access to their information, and therefore he is in the clear. This does not reveal any information about kira's limited abilities if light is not assumed to be kira. The type of information here is purely risky. According to L himself, to assume kira's power is limited using this information has a risk of 95%+.

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Additionnally,through all this L came to know Kira as someone methodical who careful think each of his moves.

No. Maybe he believes that this is the case, and the audience may trust him for various reasons, but the story itself is not the cause of this gigantic leap of insight. Certainly L is struggling to figure out Kira, but he started off from scratch, and has essentially no bounds. Ryuk could have killed the same guys Light killed, in the same manner, just to toy with L, and L would not know it. That his particular naturalistic rationality happens to coincide more or less with reality (imagine if L got confused for a slight second, and went on a wild goose chase The show would be ruined, of course, but how realistic is L deducing everything right, really, considering he has so little to start off with) is a contrived part of the story, and I am increasingly irked by how forced it gets.

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With all this information,L could put his life on the line,knowing that if he died at the school ceremony or shortly after,then Light is Kira,because he would be the only one to have information about him outside the investigation team,but also the assurance that if Light is Kira,he wouldn't dare kill him yet.

Eh? what information? That Kira kills by some pattern? Responding to L's moves? L must be a real expert about women then, able to comprehend every vague detail that remotely reminds him of something absolutely accurately as to put his life on the line against an unknown power. Good luck L, nice knowing ya.

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because he would be the only one to have information about him outside the investigation team

I'm highlighting this. So what? So the chief police guy's son had a conversation with L, in the middle of a thousand people, and therefore it is enough to arrest the chief police guy's son? Seriously, with L dead, the investigation would die, and Light would be in the clear, since there is simply not enough evidence to make him suspicious, much less to convict him. It is the fact that Light doesn't know whether L is telling the truth or not that's preventing him from striking. That detail, is not dependent on what L knows(a story-based development, L's knowledge is built up from story events), but what Light is, which is manipulated easily by limiting the power of the death note. It is not that Light is afraid of what will happen if he really kills L. The deterrence only works if L is alive and can use that information to form his own judgments, after that he will try to collect enough evidence to convince a jury or something, who knows how the legal system works in this.

So, they are moving way too fast here. L made a boneheaded decision, got lucky because of the limits of the death note, and the audience buys it, all applause!

I dont think this is proper behavior by L at all. Remember he does not know about Kira's full capabilities, and to cast himself as a suspicious suspect for being L, who is hunted by a guy who can kill through undefined means, in such a direct fashion, is a highly risky move. Take out Light's reactions, and consider on what basis L made the move, and it seems clear to me that this is an artificially created dramatic moment.

the critical irrationalities in L's thinking are:

1st, believing he has the necessary leverages over Kira, which includes:

a highly specific, presumed limit on kira's powers. how does he know that kira cannot have tricks up his sleeves? The shinigami eye deal for example, or some other way of killing or finding out names. Everything here is possible for Kira, or at least L must consider all that is strictly impossible, which is still pretty dangerous. He has the burden of proof, not kira. Why doesn't kira simply bust out some moves to kill L? because it would ruin the story? when was he aware that he's in a contrived story in teh first place? Any time that the "this is a story" argument is used, you don't have a story. For something like an undefined power like the death note, the ability to produce limits on kira's powers are unlimited, and one would be tempted to do so just to get a situation of interest, but do it less obviously please. -__-

according to Light's take on the situation, which we can assume to be L's way of saying how he would put risk on kira. We have some sort of semi official police investigation against a killer with unnatural powers. Why does he presume that the police is enough to catch or kill kira, and why does he think what kira tries would necessarily attract the police attention.

then, we have the assumption of a risk-valuing kira. No matter what L does to deter the potential kira, it is still a deterrence by risk. If kira ignores the risk, then L is basically fucked. gg no re. What makes L so sure that kira is not reckless, as he had shown with the taylor situation?

2nd, believing he can prevent a rumor from circulating
frankly, if this is done in a normal college, it would be spread as a rumor, and L would cause complications for himself. Certainly a story can be made of a curious student following L around or something, and here some more "this is a story" argument are needed.

That the situation turned out in his favor as a stalemate is more luck than anything else, in other words, a contrived situation. That the story is set up as a cooly conducted criminal investigation and not a wtf is happening and everyone freaks out situation as suggested by the undefined power of the supernatural deathnote is just an adherence to an irrational rationalism that plagues much of intelligent society today, a simple and comfortable intepretation of the world that has but arbitrary truthfulness.

Narrowing your search to a few ppl.

Finding one that is too perfect.

Telling him your name (that is fake of course) that resembles a pop idol.

If the person who is under suspision by you first won't kill you because when he does immediately he would be busted.

Two he would probably kill the idol....pretty good logic here to me

Life is like a chess game. In a chess game the BEST moves are ones that defend and let you attack on your next turn. Imagine what they are doing as the most complicated chess game ever played up so far in humanity's existance.

L cannot contain the chess game as a two person interaction. What he did was not only telling Light that he is L, with its implications if Light is kira, but also releasing that information to the world, which would have its own implications. not that he had any idea of what he was dealing with when he tells a potential kira that he is L, arousing the guy's attention. The last thing you'd want to to do when confronting a guy who is killing hundreds of people without laying a finger on them is to arouse their suspicion. Seriously, he had no reliable leverage at all to speak of.

Why would anyone else around them, assuming they did overhear him, believe that L is L? Why would they even care? Do you think the general public keeps track of a man who has only appeared once (in a certain area) in conjuction with the Kira case? Isn't it more likely they'd brush him off as some weirdo?

Saying who he is only really has meaning for Light. Whether he is Kira or the dutiful son of a police officer who is following the case.

Why should L take that risk. Light may simply "blog" about this and make it some kind of phenomenon, who knows. What kind of info can L expect out of this move, except maybe, upon realizing he is a part of the show, he did this to add more exciting ACTION!!

I thought a bit about this plot point (why L reveals himself to Light.) I remember enjoying this moment in the manga and it transferred well to the anime.

The point was brought up that L is making an unnecessary risk here, if Kira has powers that have not been seen yet. However, for all L knows, Kira is already able to strike him down and is just toying with him (the shinigami eat apples message.) L knows even if he is not working against a god, it has some unknown ability to kill. Knowing this, Kira could have any range of powers, so avoiding a possible lead because it may lead to personal risk may prove ultimately fruitless because Kira may very well be able to kill him on a whim even if he doesn't take that risk, so the reasoning "L shouldn't do this in case of hidden powers" doesn't really work out for L.

So, L decides to work with what information he has, as no other information is available. Light stands out the most to him as a suspect, and is just now entering college, an opportunity for L to observe first hand. A proxy would be better, but he would be unable to witness Kira murdering for himself, which he has decided is necessary to convict him. Meanwhile, he introduces himself to Light as a shield against the powers he knows about (again, other powers are possible, but this has to be disregarded.) So, what if Light tells others?

If Light is not Kira, as the dutiful police chief's son he respects L and would likely not reveal this information to others. If Light is Kira, he gains immunity from Kira for the moment, in case he is a proxy. Also, the chances of people believing he is L are low; these claims of "I saw L" may show up on the internet fairly regularly. Kira might hire people to kill L with more conventional means, but this would still point suspicion towards Light as he is the only one who has been told who L is. (Also, L may be carrying bugs or cameras on his person.)

I'm enjoying this series so far, but I do have a couple nitpicks... Much of it is very well done, but I am sometimes confused with the way they open episodes. This episode didn't need a recap and it seemed somewhat absurd with the dramatic music. Meanwhile, I thought episode 6 where L introduces himself to the police should have had a recap including parts of the cliffhanger ending of episode 5, but instead it started right off with L and the police, while I thought it would have been stronger with some buildup beforehand. The opening theme helps to fix problems with the beginnings of episodes, though.

Also, I found the animation to be a little annoying when Light and Ryuk are leaving the ceremony, but it didn't last too long.

Other than those 2 points I thought the episode was done very well, especially the second half.

then you are destroying any rational argument over kira's powers. the case is that the limit is not specific enough with the evidences available to L for him to take the highly incremental risk of showing himself in public and at least showing the slightest suspicion of himself being L. This is such a great contrast with when L was being so so secretive so as to avoid even seeing the police.

This is a highly important plot twist that is justified just to create a situation of confrontation. I understand the work is an art, and we are being shown a personal conflict between the two lead characters, however, with each, they are drawn up by convenient devices (such as the mysterious aura surrounding L, and his quirks, showing some deviant character and talent that operates beyond human understanding, so the audience is expected to eat from L's hand, or brain), even more so for L, since his character is the one driving the story (the progress of the investigation is the story, hence L must be able to make progress, or something must happen in the investigation, in order for there to be a show).

Anyways, this is not my biggest complaint about the show. I can ignore these plot devices, but for Light's character to be so simply drawn, without showing any internal struggle over this issue, makes death note lose much of its potential. What would one do, he who can control death, that should be the theme, not some contrived action sequence, which it is increasingly becoming apparently.

I have to admit that my initial reaction was incredulity. The situation seemed off to me somehow because it didn't fit with the over-cautious profile L had established for himself.

Then I thought about it some more and I became more comfortable with it and started to appreciate the gutsiness and daring of the move. L really had no other leads besides the people Ray was investigating. L, by his own admission, is childish and hates to lose. I think this just shows the desperation of L.

In ordinary murder cases, there are so many tools and analysis available from DNA tracking, to munition tracking, to autopsy reports, etc... There is nothing like that here. L has to force the action. He has strong suspicions that's backed by circumstantial evidence but he really has no solid evidence of anything. He's concluded that he can't progress any further unless he takes more drastic measures to "create" the clues he needs.

At the very least, he'll eliminate Light from his short list of suspects so he can go back to the drawing board.

I'm highlighting this. So what? So the chief police guy's son had a conversation with L, in the middle of a thousand people, and therefore it is enough to arrest the chief police guy's son? Seriously, with L dead, the investigation would die, and Light would be in the clear, since there is simply not enough evidence to make him suspicious, much less to convict him. It is the fact that Light doesn't know whether L is telling the truth or not that's preventing him from striking. That detail, is not dependent on what L knows(a story-based development, L's knowledge is built up from story events), but what Light is, which is manipulated easily by limiting the power of the death note. It is not that Light is afraid of what will happen if he really kills L. The deterrence only works if L is alive and can use that information to form his own judgments, after that he will try to collect enough evidence to convince a jury or something, who knows how the legal system works in this.

So, they are moving way too fast here. L made a boneheaded decision, got lucky because of the limits of the death note, and the audience buys it, all applause!

given the situation, if L were to die, the investigation would still remain. L may be the only viable character that can track down Kira at this point but if the murders were to continue after L's disappearance, someone or some people would just pick off where he left off. i'm sure Light's father wouldn't give up on the case. I don't know much about the rest of Kira team because they seem to depend too much on L. criminals dying at a continuing rate isnt something you can just ignore.

How Light kept his cool when L told him about Him been L ( I bet most of you first time People seen Death Note were shocked by this bold move).

This Chapter Script was so good, I was not even bothered by the sub par Animation. This Anime team is doing a great job at the adaptation, and this is only the beginning.

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Originally Posted by anselfir

2nd, believing he can prevent a rumor from circulating
frankly, if this is done in a normal college, it would be spread as a rumor, and L would cause complications for himself. Certainly a story can be made of a curious student following L around or something, and here some more "this is a story" argument are needed.

How could the rumor about The real L circulate in the University? , Just because of Light, and L knows very well that Light (or Kira for that matter) would not do this type of Childish maneuver.

L decided to present himself to Light because He knows Lights physiological Background and His ties with The investigation (his Father), as a University gossip started by light, would only hurt him more in terms of the suspicious cast on him.

If I were an Investigator, I would be asking myself, Why Light, the son of someone who is in this case, be telling everyone such confidential information? Reason: He has something against me or the people in the investigation.

And why he feels that way, when he helped before the Police to take down evil and he is supposed to be someone with strong sense of Justice?then this answer will only elevate the suspicions on him been Kira.

And its true the move was risky because L does not know about some things as the Shimigami eyes; However, up to this point of the investigating, he has shown everything he can do or the limits of his powers, So there is very low possibility he can kill me (L) when I present myself with a fake name, and if he does Gets to Kill me, he would be trapped, because I already presented myself.

Anyone that Comes close to Light and Dies in a strange matter, only helps to fuel more the idea of Kira been Light.

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"when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." -

How could the rumor about The real L circulate in the University? , Just because of Light, and L knows very well that Light (or Kira for that matter) would not do this type of Childish maneuver.

Light is a high school kid. L doesn't see the stuff that teh audience sees, and he would have no information to allow him to say, nah, Light isn't this loose.

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Anyone that Comes close to Light and Dies in a strange matter, only helps to fuel more the idea of Kira been Light.

Light would not be in a more dire situation if L died. There is not enough knowledge on Kira's powers to conclude definitely that the killer is from the surroundings, although what can we expect from criminal investigation shows that seem to think the standard for making investigation leads is just whatever reason the audience would accept. Unless L made some kind of "if i die wreck this Light kid" note before he died, Light wont get too much flak. But in any case, there ae too many undefined things for us to speculate beyond L's death, the most important being the full scope of L's little adventure, whether the police knows it, whether there are backup plans, etc. With the available evidence it is pretty much clear that the show expects the audience to accept it, but I do not think they have provided enough support for this endeavor.

Light is a high school kid. L doesn't see the stuff that teh audience sees, and he would have no information to allow him to say, nah, Light isn't this loose.

No he isnt, Light is and University Grown Man, didn’t you watch this Episode? they are University student, not only that, but Light has shown he has a maturity above your normal 18 Year old.

If L has been investigating Light, he sees more about Light than we the audience sees, So he pretty much could tell weather someone as Light could be trusted with this info, just wiht the fact that his father is part of the investigating team of Kira, is sufficient enought o trust Light wiht it.

L is the best investigator in the Planet, a Brilliant mind that understand the human Physcology, so he knew very well that Light would not be spreading his secret.

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Light would not be in a more dire situation if L died.

I did not say he would be in a more dire situation, I said: “Anyone that Comes close to Light and Dies in a strange matter, only helps to fuel more the idea of Kira been Light.”

Meaning if it was 5% before, it could elevate to 10%. The chances of a hunch about something will not put Light in a predicament, it will only elevate the suspicious on him.

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There is not enough knowledge on Kira's powers to conclude definitely that the killer is from the surroundings, although what can we expect from criminal investigation shows that seem to think the standard for making investigation leads is just whatever reason the audience would accept. Unless L made some kind of "if i die wreck this Light kid" note before he died, Light wont get too much flak.

Yes, there is Everything there is to know About what Kira can kill from L's perspective, if there were something more to it, then Kira would had already killed L a long time ago, but still L is alive. So basically L has decipher this, as we know its on the mark.

Even if L did not left any Note about if he dye, the suspicious of Kira been Light would only be elevated, and not stay the same or diminish.

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But in any case, there ae too many undefined things for us to speculate beyond L's death, the most important being the full scope of L's little adventure, whether the police knows it, whether there are backup plans, etc. With the available evidence it is pretty much clear that the show expects the audience to accept it, but I do not think they have provided enough support for this endeavor.

You are treating as L is some punk that does doesn’t know what he is doing, that’s just Wrong, he exactly knows what he is doing, Reason why A) He is still alive and he is not in any immediate danger, B) It puts Light on a very tight spot.

L moves prove to be a genius move as The Shown in this Episode, reason why Light lost his cool in this one. So pretty much We can speculate all you want, but one thing is certain And even mentioned in the series: If L dies now, it will only make Light a bigger Suspect of the case, that’s an irrefutable fact

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"when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." -

L is the best investigator in the Planet, a Brilliant mind that understand the human Physcology, so he knew very well that Light would not be spreading his secret.

Honestly, college students > facebook > blogs >random parties > gossip. You know how information spread in a college. For L to deduce somehow that Light is someone who would keep things to himself, or, even take him seriously and not go "loooool I'm so blogging this joker" he indeed is a great genius. But I can understand if he did, just that the reasoning is weak and thin, resting on intuition more than anything.

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I did not say he would be in a more dire situation, I said: “Anyone that Comes close to Light and Dies in a strange matter, only helps to fuel more the idea of Kira been Light.”

Meaning if it was 5% before, it could elevate to 10%. The chances of a hunch about something will not put Light in a predicament, it will only elevate the suspicious on him.

so L's death only carries a 5% risk to kira, great, i'll do it. The only thing L has going for him is that Light can't be sure that L is really L.

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You are treating as L is some punk that does doesn’t know what he is doing, that’s just Wrong, he exactly knows what he is doing, Reason why A) He is still alive and he is not in any immediate danger, B) It puts Light on a very tight spot.

Honestly, college students > facebook > blogs >random parties > gossip. You know how information spread in a college.

The problem is that Light has shown no interest whatsoever in this, Don’t try and push it, is really easy to tell that Raito is not that immature to do that. you don’t have to be a world class detective to figure that he is not going to disclose L secret.

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For L to deduce somehow that Light is someone who would keep things to himself, or, even take him seriously and not go "loooool I'm so blogging this joker" he indeed is a great genius. But I can understand if he did, just that the reasoning is weak and thin, resting on intuition more than anything.

Reason why I said before you think that L is some punk that does not know what he is doing, L is a genius detective who never failed a Case before, so deducting (not having Hunch) that Light will not gossip about this should be something easy for him to guess.

So, Basically, L did not acted on intuition, but using Reasonable logic.

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so L's death only carries a 5% risk to kira, great, i'll do it. The only thing L has going for him is that Light can't be sure that L is really L.

You’ll do it because you don’t have a genius mind as L or Light who think about every bit of detail before acting, know I know if you would had been Kira, even detective Clouseau would had caught you.

As I threw a number for example purpose, it could be 8, it could be 10, it could be even 50%. But the probability would rise, and that’s the last thing Light want to happen. He wants to get rid of L, but even if he knew that’s the real L and knew his Name, he would just not kill L right there without thinking of an of the wall strategy so Light does not seems guilty.

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no i'm not, read my post.

Sorry, but your post said otherwise:

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Originally Posted by anselfir

. But I can understand if he did, just that the reasoning is weak and thin, resting on intuition more than anything.

__________________

"when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." -

I doubt L is without a backup plan. How does he even get to this position of "greatest detective in the world" without proper funding and backing? This Wataru guy who keeps following him around should at least know what's up.

If L should die, then it's pretty much 100% certain that Light is Kira. The only thing left to do is catch him doing the deed or Patriot Act his ass (lock him up based on suspicions alone). Don't tell me about human rights violations. It's perfectly legal in the U.S. and there seems to be an international criminal investigations organization that wields that kind of clout.

L has not exposed himself to anyone else besides Light. Light has deduced this so he dares not kill L.

I think it's rather absurd to say that the situation for Light wouldn't worsen drastically should L die sometime after meeting with Light. L has revealed himself to no one else besides the 6 Japanese Police Investigators and he's already determined none of them are Kira. Sure, there's not enough evidence to convict. But who needs strong evidence when trying to catch a dangerous international terrorist?

If I become the new leader of the investigation after learning L died and that his last move was to personally investigate this Light fellow (something he has never done before), I'd arrest Light immediately without warning, strip him, throw him in an insane asylum suit, and put him in a box for 3 months.

I guess I can see the argument that L might not know all of Kira's capabilities. But from his mindset, Kira is -not- 'an act of god'. In other words, killing by heart attack seems like a very powerful... yet 'mortal' ability. Perhaps even the ability to control their actions before they die could be viewed as such. It's incredible, but not beyond imagination.

Where Kira's abilities go beyond that is killing in means -beyond- heart attack. Killing by a heart attack may be a specific ability... but by heart attack, disease, car accident? Well, in theory Kira could kill someone by his ability by causing someone to have a heart attack as they drive car, thus causing a car wreck. But being able to strike someone down by more than that one means is smacking of 'acts of god'. Where this comparison does break down though is Kira's ability to kill at any time. That does resemble something beyond what he should be able to do logically, just in a 'focus ability' perspective...

Looking at Light though, I can definitely see why L's intuition is telling him this. Even in the "TV announcement" of the 1500 investigators, Light had to challenge it. Seeing Light's behavior and mannerisms even in basic conversation would be very helpful. And it's true, no one else on the investigation team has L's insight. The next episode is out, so I'll some spoiler about L's investigation in that episode...

Spoiler:

When L is interviewing Light, Light gives a perfectly reasonable explanation as to get information out of L. But L sees completely through Light's (hey, even my habit) of "talking too much" because he wants to be right. He also predicts what Light is going to say and try, and pre-empts his attempts; rather, he makes Light think he is trying to pre-empt him. He rather eloquently manipulates Light into speaking and thinking "as if he is Kira" both with the message and Light's expectation that he will not be allowed to meet the investigation team, and noticing how Lights' thinking line up to meet L's profile. If Light wasn't Kira, he wouldn't think like that so readily and have the expectations he does. L doesn't have much information about the powers to go on, and knows Light will be trying to avoid anything 'giving himself up'. But by avoiding the 'conclusive evidence', he meets all of L's suspicions and thus L can be more certain to investigate him further and not move on.

He couldn't really trust second-hand accounts, Light could easily manipulate the people and details would be lost. Camera equipment could be used, although they are falliable and filtered. But that still wouldn't give him the ability to get the person down there to act and respond right, and even if so it would be falliable enough that Light could see it for what it was. By showing no fear of Light, he really put Light on edge. If L died though, Watari seems smart enough to help the investigators head in the right direction. So I do think L's approach was risky, but had payoffs. It does lack the anonymity though, and it does endanger the entire thing. I wouldn't have moved so soon... but L might have been counting on unbalancing him and cracking the facade all of a sudden, which it did! L's also pretty confident that Kira hasn't the ability to kill him without his name, and L doesn't know about the 'deal'. As such, it's not nearly as risky to L as one might think... at least, by Death Note. It also makes Light even more frightened of making mistakes; overanalyzing what he's doing and stuff like I mentioned in the spoiler paragraph.

Now, if the police caught onto Kira, he could always run. But as he is the 'pampered prodigy' and extremely proud, I don't think Light even wants to consider the possibility. He needs to beat L at his own game, and so I think he's not going to be "cheap" per se. He could spread around the word of who he is, but it'd obviously have to come from Light. If Light does anything that impedes L, he could at least have the police arrest Light for impeding an official investigation! This would give them grounds to search his home and anything else as necessary, too. If Light tries to hire someone, that leaves evidence that can be traced directly, and up until now that is the one thing he has been avoiding. L doesn't know about the 'other' deaths, but it's possible if L died someone investigating more thoroughly may notice Pember was involved in that fateful bus incident, and Light was one of merely two that fit the criteria for further investigation... which would bring one of Light's biggest cards out, death by means other than heart attack. Thus, killing L isn't a good idea... even if L dies and all the investigation team, that L may not be the real L. If it was, Light may bring out others like L. Also, every time L seems to get the "upper hand" on Light, Light has to explain the situation as something that works for him in the end. Light doesn't even want to think that he might be on the ropes; both an admirable trait and a tragic flaw, you could consider. He won't give up, but he's also possibly deluding himself...

I won't say that they don't make their mistakes. We think of things differently because we have a different perspective on things. Even if we try and meet theirs, sometimes people don't see what's right in front of them; with our perspective we might just have 'our answer' and be trying to work backwards and get a better method. Then again, we just might be noticing something unnatural about the anime and our intuition tells us 'something is off'. It's not unreasonable to think someone around might have heard L's words; in the manga it's said when they are coming down from the stage. It's also not unreasonable to assume Light's power might be "growing", too...

Everyone in the series seems to make errors from time to time, it doesn't mean we are better or worse for noticing them. They are mortal men, despite any aspirations for more, and this is a situation unlike anything either of them have ever been in before. Even if they are 'good', and I can easily see that they can be quite skillful, that's different from perfection or godhood. Even the writers, you can say, are mortal men... if you don't like their writing, you don't have to. I do, I like a lot of the undercurrents I keep on noticing, and hell, I like L.